South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean speeds up construction of LNG carriers
South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, previously known as DSME, is currently building simultaneously four large liquefied natural gas carriers at the first dock in Geoje as part of its plans to speed up the construction of LNG vessels, according to LNG Prime.
Hanwha Ocean said in a statement that its first dock, measuring 530 meters in length and 131 meters in width, is the world’s largest and known for being able to accommodate the construction of various types of ships and plants at once.
The shipbuilder, which changed its name earlier this year, currently has on order 65 LNG carriers and expects to win more orders as part of the second phase of QatarEnergy’s giant shipbuilding program.
Hanwha Ocean is working to launch these four LNG carriers which are under construction at the first dock on November 4, it said in the statement.
Besides the first dock, Hanwha Ocean also plans to start building large LNG carriers at its second dock as of next year as it focuses on the construction of LNG vessels.
Hanwha Ocean plans to build 22 LNG carriers in 2024 and 24 LNG carriers in 2025, setting a record for the largest number of LNG carriers built during one year, the shipbuilder said.
The shipbuilder has built the largest number of LNG carriers so far in 2018, when it constructed 18 vessels.
Last year, Hanwha Ocean set a record for the largest number of orders for LNG carriers in a year since its establishment, surpassing its yearly record of 37 LNG carriers in 2014.
The shipbuilder won orders for a total of 38 LNG carriers in 2022.
This year, Hanwha Ocean secured orders for five LNG carriers, including the latest deal in July for one LNG carrier tied to Japan’s MOL.
Prior to this deal, the shipbuilder secured an order to build one 174,000-cbm LNG carrier for MOL in February and one vessel in April, and it will build two LNG tankers for Greece’s Maran Gas under a deal revealed in March.
